iPhone 12 Mini name appears again in leaked images

iPhone 11
The iPhone 11. (Image credit: Future)

With the expected mid-October iPhone 12 reveal rapidly approaching, we've been able to build up quite a detailed picture of what to expect from the next flagship phones from Apple – including a hint we got about an iPhone 12 Mini model a few days ago.

Now we have a second tipster suggesting the Mini name is coming to the iPhone line-up, via a picture of case stickers posted on Twitter by user DuanRui (and embedded below). You can see the smallest 5.4-inch case mentions the Mini name.

Neither of these iPhone 12 Mini leaks come from particularly well-known sources, so don't take this as confirmed just yet, but this is a rumor that's starting to gain a bit of momentum as the official launch gets closer and closer.

What makes it slightly more plausible is that Apple already has an iPad Mini and indeed a Mac Mini, so it wouldn't be the first time that the name was used. It might also help users distinguish between the four iPhone 12 models that we think we'll be seeing next month.

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Based on everything we've heard so far, besides the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 (Mini?), we're also anticipating two 6.1-inch models – the iPhone 12 Max and the iPhone 12 Pro. If the Mini rumor is true, that Max model might just simply be called the iPhone 12.

One of the differences between the two 6.1-inch models will be the camera setup, with the Pro model packing in better optics and a LiDAR sensor for improved depth sensing and augmented reality applications (like the iPad Pros). It may also have a superior screen.

The top-of-the-range iPhone 12 would then be the 6.7-inch iPhone Pro Max, which would be the biggest and most capable of the four models. They're all expected to be running the same A14 Bionic chipset though, as seen in the new iPad Air, so performance should be similar across the board.

It's all a little confusing – especially when you factor in the iPhone SE (2020) as well – but we'll explain everything for you in full when Apple makes these handsets official. We're not exactly sure when that will be yet, but October 13 looks like a good bet.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.